# "Each way" betting.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-way-betting/235013>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 18, 2004, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-way-betting/235013 "2004-03-18T12:02:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\
**Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/each-way-betting/235013/21 "2011-05-10T02:24:10Z")

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> [@Verboten](#):
>
> Sorry, a “show” is a 3rd place finish. “Placing” here means only a 2nd place finish, which is what threw me off. So an each way bet is half on a win, and half on 2nd, 3rd and possibly 4th place finish.
> 
> So, the other half of the bet there is really a hedge against a win, and here there are fixed odds for 1st, 2nd or 3rd place finish. Interesting. Does my example make more sense now? Win on across the board means (4+3+2)_$5 = $45, place means (3+2)_$5 = $25 and show means 2\*$5 = $10.
> 
> …
> 
> See, my problem is that I know how to bet, I just don’t know how to pick the right horses. 😃

I’m not sure you know how to bet.

In my experience, a $15 bet across the board means you are betting $5 to win, $5 to place, and $5 to show. In your example, a winning horse would return $20 ($5x4-1 odds), $15, and $10, for a total of $45.

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